History

Lewis S. Rosenstiel, shaking hands at one of the early Rosenstiel Award Ceremonies.

The Rosenstiel Award, created in 1971 through an endowment from the Rosenstiel Foundation, under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS administered the award through the creation of an annual selection panel. In 1980, the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami assumed all responsibility for the selection and designation of the yearly award. There have been 34 awardees.

Annually, the nomination and selection process rotates between different to one individual on a rotating basis for achievements in six broad disciplinary areas: marine geology and geophysics; meteorology and physical oceanography; marine and atmospheric chemistry; marine biology and fisheries; applied marine physics; and marine affairs.